When you use power words in your business content, you grab the attention of more people, your content becomes more influential, and people act on your advice. And what’s more … a careful selection of power words helps shape your voice.

What are power words?

Weak words have a shallow meaning—they don’t make readers feel something and they don’t allow readers to visualize your words.

In contrast, power words tend to have strong meanings. They nudge people to take action—to download your report, to contact you for a quote, or to implement your advice.

Three different types of power words exist:

6 super seductive words nudging people to take action—their persuasive power seems irrational, but is proven by science.

Want to know how to use these 3 types of words to add power and pizzazz to your business content?

The 6 super seductive words to boost conversions and social shares

Power word #1. New

“New” takes us on an adventure, a journey of discovery.

As neuromarketer Roger Dooley suggests, our brains are wired for “new.” Our attraction to novelties helps us innovate and seek new opportunities. If new things weren’t so attractive to humans, we’d still be stuck in our caves. You and I wouldn’t meet here on the web.

Apple has long understood the power of new. They rephrase “new” in multiple ways to seduce readers to upgrade their still fully functional iPhones or iPads:

all-new

reimagined from the ground up

re-invented from the inside out

we had to completely rethink how a keyboard is engineered

we redesigned each key and its underlying mechanism

How to use the power of “new” in your writing:

In emails announcing new products, use “new,” “announcing,” or “introducing” at the start of your subject line

On sales pages for new products, use feature flashes highlighting the word “new”

When upgrading an existing product, explain carefully what’s new about it

When tweeting a new blog post for the first time, use “new blog post” at the start of your tweet:

Power word #2. Free

In his book “Predictably Irrational,” Dan Ariely explains how Amazon.com started offering free shipments for orders over a certain price.

The offer was a great success, but not in France. Ariely explains:

Instead of offering FREE! Shipping on orders over a certain amount, the French division priced the shipping for those orders at one franc. Just one franc—about 20 [dollar] cents. This doesn’t seem very different from FREE! But it was. In fact, when Amazon changed the promotion in France to include free shipping, France joined all the other countries in a dramatic sales increase. In other words, whereas shipping for one franc—a real bargain—was virtually ignored by the French, FREE! Shipping caused an enthusiastic response.

“FREE” is not only powerful when adding bonuses to a product or service; you can also use “Free” to attract attention to your blog posts.

Here’s how Copyblogger harnesses the power of “free” in headlines to attract attention and boost social sharing:

Power word #3. Imagine

This is why car salesmen tempt you to test drive a car. And why jewelry sellers suggest you try that necklace to see how it looks.

Online this seems tricky. But we can let people imagine how they would feel if you help them. How much smoother their business would run. How much more relaxed they would feel. How excited they’d be about their business, their career, their life.

Here’s how Ramit Sethi (I Will Teach You to Be Rich) uses the power of the word “imagine” to help you visualize what taking his course might mean for you:

Imagine you use this program to identify a profitable idea. You know it works because you get your first enthusiastic, paying client who is delighted to pay for your services. You now have new money in the bank.

What would that mean?

Would you be more confident of your abilities?

Would you be more motivated to earn more and use it to pay off debt, increase your savings, or take an extravagant vacation?

Powerful, eh?

Power word #4. Because

Presenting a reason why people should do something can trigger an automatic response. Even if the reason is bogus.

In his book Influence, Cialdini describes the photocopier experiment: If you don’t give a reason why people should allow you to jump the queue, only 60% lets you go ahead. But when you give a reason, using the word “because,” 93% of people allow you to jump the queue:

When I marketed range cookers, we introduced a unique service where you could order your cooker in any color. Not only did a custom-colored cooker command a premium price, you also had to wait up to three months (compared to a couple of weeks for a standard order).

Similarly, when I implemented a waiting list for copywriting inquiries, I could instantly increase my fees.

That’s the power of exclusivity.

What appeals more to your customers? Instant gratification or exclusivity?

Power phrase #6. How to

As bestselling author Jonah Berger explains in his book Contagious, we like to pass along practical information:

People like to help one another. We go out of our way to give advice or send others information that will make them better off.

“How to” works best when the advice promised is specific and valuable.

Bonus power “phrase”: numerals

Numerals like 10 or 7 or 93 aren’t words, but they can instantly boost your persuasiveness.

Why?

Usability expert Jakob Nielsen tracked eye movements of users visiting websites, and he found that “numerals often stop the wandering eye and attract fixations, even when they’re embedded within a mass of words that users otherwise ignore.”

Numerals attract attention because they look different from letters. Moreover, numbers represent facts.

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The easiest way to start using emotional words is to empathize with your reader. What problem is she struggling with? Which emotions does she feel when thinking about this problem? Or how can your content or service make her feel better?

Just like you tap your toe to a good beat, your brain enjoys tapping along with a good presentation, but only if something new is continually unfolding and developing.

People rarely act by reason alone. You need to tap into other deeply seated desires and beliefs in order to be persuasive. You need a small thorn that is sharper than fact to prick their hearts. That thorn is emotion.

Haven’t you often wished you could make customers, employees, investors, or students snap, crackle, pop, and move to the new place they need to be in order to create a new future?

Examples of sensory power words

Sensory words describe how we experience the world:

Words related to sight indicate colors, shape, or appearance

Words related to touch describe textures; you can use them to describe feelings and abstract concepts

Words related to hearing describe sounds

Taste and smell are closely related

Motion is sensory, too. By using active words or describing movement, you help your readers experience your words

I never understood the photo copier example. I am sure it would not work if I tried! Explaining why you want something certainly does not work as well on paper. ‘Please leave a testimonial, because they help me a lot’ does not do the trick.

Yes, “hell” is a good power word, too. There’s hundreds (perhaps thousands?) more power words missing – no definitive list exists 🙂

“Because” probably works better when we give a real reason that sounds less self-indulgent. “I’d love to get a testimonial from you because you’re the best known blogger in the Netherlands and other readers would trust your advice.”

I was actually thinking of giving a reason to people you don’t know, on a website. That is not working at all. People have to know you personally before they want to do you a favor, I think. I mean a real favor, like giving you a testimonial.

I have a special file for your emails with links to your articles – they are exceptional. Let’s use power words – they are mind blowing. My hope is to keep all the information you present in order in my head – like in a good toolbox. Thanks again.

I know that within the past few months, anytime I would write something, I wanted to make sure it was void of gobbledygook. So I would study your posts and more specifically, the words you would use to describe certain things.

Now I don’t have to do that anymore because if this amazing post.

Brilliant.

– Andrew

P.S. Love the dog bone sales page. Damn near convinced me to get it for my dog.

I could spend hours reading your posts Henneke – and make a point not to, though I was seduced into reading Roger Dooley’s post by the ‘neuro’ reference, which is a big interest of mine. Then I read a couple more of his posts before returning to your brilliant article. Jam- packed and bursting at the seams with relevant, useful information. I bow to your mastery. Double thumbs up!

I know if I could wrangle words the way you tell us to, I could write better. It’s so hard to think of them, though, while writing or even editing. These lists will push me on to new heights, I think. Thanks so much!

Hi Henneke, English is not my mother language. I find I am using the same boring words over and over again in my email and blog. Thank you for this great post! I will read over and over again and use these words you recommended. Best, Nell

Delicious post Henneke, you never make mad or sad, just glad always. That’s why your posts are #1 on my list. Keep the words rolling out. Always ready to receive and ingest. Thank you, Time with you is high value.

I’m with you. Many power words are overused and they’ve lost their power over time – like cliches. I don’t want to read another article about “killer headlines” and prefer to avoid “world-class companies with best-in-class products.” 😉

A lot of sensory and emotional words have a subtle power which I like.

This is a very interesting and revealing article. No doubts, having these powers on your copies can really boost its conversion and click-through rate. The major thing is to ensure the word is highly relevant.

I’ve never thought of using the word “new post” while tweeting my new articles and, now I can see the difference it can make.

For instance, you often tweet multiple times daily and without adding that “new post” your readers won’t be able to know when you have a new post.

I am thrilled to find your website today. I’ve heard about you, of course. I just realized I’ve been here over an hour and bookmarked some of your posts. By the way, who did the art for the images? 🙂 Love it!

Hi Henneke. You packed a lot of very valuable information in this post. As for your last point about overusing power words, you need to use moderation in everything about life. The real trick to using the power words is to keep them under your readers’ radar so that they have the desired effect of getting them fully engaged in what you are saying without setting off any alarms that may get them questioning your words.

I’m going to have to go back and make some notes. Thanks for sharing this info.

Yep, you’re so right – most things in life need to be used in moderation. And as soon as power words become buzzwords, they lose their persuasive powers, and we’ll have to look for new ones. That’s one of the reasons why writing is so fascinating, I think.

I’m new to your site and finding the power word post and the comments insightful. In my industry everything is described as “high quality”. If we leave out that descriptive phrase in favor of another (yet to be determined), do we run the risk of implying by omission that our products/services are “low quality”?

The problem with “high quality” is exactly what you suggest – everyone uses it. This doesn’t mean you can’t use it but on its own it isn’t very persuasive. I suggest combining it with specifics explaining why your products/services are high quality. See also the second point here: http://www.enchantingmarketing.com/subtle-copywriting-errors/

I had this article open in my browser for ages because it was so juicy (already embracing your tips). Congratulations on this one, is absolutely brilliant!

Currently writing descriptions for my new product, a paper guide that will soon replace that of Lonely Planet. Actually I wanted to thank you for all your inspiration, I just quit my job – exciting times.

Your website is a real gold mine for startup bloggers like me. I’ve learned a great deal in two days. It’s been an amazing experience so far. I don’t usually leave comments but couldn’t resist. Love you.

Dear Henneke This time you did a bloody-brilliant job !! The more I read you the more I amazed You are my professor, I follow your everything (guide, sentence style, words) about writing, and try to write like you, sweet & simple.

Wow, Have just signed up to your 16 part series as I am kick starting a side business that has just been dribbling along. After going through all the technique, I realised something was missing! – no, I mean that an essential ingredient was absent from the mix.

The Copy. I mean good copy. Can you imagine what it would feel like to know that someone was hanging off your every word? That is how I felt reading this blog and how I would like my readers to feel when I write for them.

Now that I’ve devoured this priceless post for the first time, I realize I’ve barely raked the surface of its potential. And yet I already feel like more of a mover and shaker. For a new list post I wrote yesterday, I had a giant bell ring in my head about how to energize my headline using an attention-grabbing power word.

The result? I’m 100% thrilled with my headline. Bumping up my satisfaction level with it by about 50%!

(I vowed to practice the enchanting skills of engagement that you teach in this post to write this comment.)

“Thank you” seems paltry when you generously share without limit. I’ve stashed your offering in a white-hot position in my Firefox Bookmarks so I can squeeze every precious drop of value from it.

P.S. I went overboard using power words, but the 15 minutes I spent challenging myself to write a meatier comment was enlightening!

It’s as you say. It only works if the info is as juicy as the headline, and often that’s not the case. It’s also a style of writing that gets associated with gossip; such a style is, in most cases, not suitable for people who are writing for business.

Hi Henneke, your article reinforces me in some of my beliefs about the power of words and teaches me what was unknown or hidden to me. I can assure you that my way of writing will now improve. Thank you

I LOVE your style. I am craving to write but I have no writing skills, only some eclectic knowledge which I want to integrate into a simple , clear, but playful way. Thank you for bringing joy into my life, when everything seems to be too serious,in a phony kind of way.

I am 2 days new to Enchanting Marketing and your content is as promised; “enchanting”.

Thanks for this eye-opener of a post. Never thought of these words as “power words”: It’s the last time I’ll take these puppies for granted. You’ve shown me that they pack some serious punch when used creatively.

Great tips and advise and a great eye-opener regarding content, especially the use of numbering to catch the reader’s attention – amazing how web-content differs from fiction writing; completely different animal! All about the attention and providing clear value and information. Thank you Henneke.

I just realized I was taking notes on stuff that has nothing to do with my business but can help me in life. This was an article that I read twice and then had my business partner read. Loved the Because and Dog examples.

We expect a bank to have a more formal tone of voice in their communication so you’d have to be careful which power words you choose to suit that tone of voice, but words related to security and guarantees can be powerful, too. Or when talking about saving for a pension, you also have an opportunity to connect powerfully with customer’s dreams, wishes and fears.

Dear Henneke’What a captivating work! A splendid article stashed with the wealth of word gems. It’s all inspirational, It’s all ingenious, It’s all value, It’s all stunning, Its eye opening It’s rousing, And above all; thanks for ingraining the skill of power words into my mind. Thanks Have a joyful day Muhammad Iqbal

Thank you for this list! While I’m not in the marketing business, per se, I did find it incredibly useful when amping up my resume. In a sense, I am marketing myself, and these power words helped a lot!

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About Henneke

I never saw myself as a writer, but in my early forties, I learned how to write and discovered the joy of writing. Now, I’d like to empower you to find your voice, share your ideas and inspire your audience.Learn how I can help you